Why a framework
Most digital systems react to visible events: a purchase, a decline, a missed session, a complaint, a period of inactivity. But by the time the event becomes obvious, the underlying relationship may have been changing for some time. A framework gives teams language for the change before the event.
The dimensions
We are developing a small set of dimensions that, together, describe the state of a relationship rather than a single moment in it.
- Need — what the person is actually trying to do right now.
- Expectation — what they have come to assume the experience will do.
- Trust — how much benefit of the doubt they currently extend.
- Relevance — how well the experience still fits their situation.
- Willingness to continue — whether the relationship is strengthening or quietly ending.
What it is not
It is not an attempt to reduce a person to a score or to predict every decision. It is a way to be more careful about difference and change — including an honest account of the limits of what an organisation can know.